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Monday, October 21

Day 21 - "Lucky Us" Keychain

Welcome back, friends! This month we're working on 31
handmade gifts for everyone on your list. You can find links to the full
series here.

We're tackling gifts for the guys this week, and today we're making... another key chain. They're not all keychains, I promise! And I planned to spread these two out across the week. But it pretty much came down to this being the only thing I could pull off today. So we're going to roll with it. :)

This is another way to commemorate special events in your guy's life. You know, all the things that make him such a lucky guy. And what better way to do it than with some lucky pennies?

It's all metal so your guy won't feel shy about carrying it around.

The fun (and maybe a bit tricky) part of this is finding the right pennies. Try to find some with years that you got married, met, had kids, or even graduated. So many possibilities! You could even do the birth year of a parent or grandparent as a portable memorial.

Here's all you need to make one:

washer (any size you like as long as it's bigger than a penny. You could use a much bigger one for a beefier key chain)

pennies

9mm jump ring (you'll need a bigger one if you plan to add more pennies)

Start by stamping the words "lucky us" around the bottom edge of the washer. You just pound the end of the letter stamp to leave the impressions, but it takes a little practice to figure out the spacing and get your letters even. And it works best on a really firm surface (I did it right on the sidewalk).

Then you can color over the letters with a sharpie and quickly wipe off the extra with a paper towel to make the words stand out more. I don't have a pic of that step with this key chain, but this is how it looked on my washer necklaces:

Now you can drill holes in your pieces to get them ready for the keychain. We put them on a piece of wood to drill so we wouldn't hit the concrete (yes, these are our carpeted front porch steps). I held the pennies still while Husband used our special drill bits to get through the metal. It's a trusting relationship we have over here.

After the first penny we stacked it right on top of the second and drilled through the same hole to make sure they lined up. Then we did the same with the washer so it would hang where we wanted it to.

Here they are all ready to go.

Now you can grab your jump rings and key rings.

I used a pair of jewelry pliers to open the jump ring, then I slid on the washer, pennies (make sure they're all facing the right way), and key ring. Then I closed the jump ring.

And that's it!

These are so fast and easy to make. And it they can work for so many people! Besides the guys, you could give it to your wife to celebrate your anniversary, or even give it to a high school student to mark their graduation year.

And this are insanely cheap to make. Here's what it cost me:

$2.50 - washers (a big pack of multiple sizes that I also used for washer necklaces and still have lots left over!
$1.00 - jump rings, on sale 50% off
$0.75 - key ring, on sale 50% off
$0.02 - two pennies
$3.00 - drill bit
$15.00 - letter stamps (but like I keep saying, these are an investment and I've already used them for several gifts)

Total: $21.27

But don't panic! I already had the letter stamps, and there are enough pieces in my packs to make 8 keychains before I have to buy more key rings, so really it comes out to be less than $1 per keychain!

Now everybody happy happy happy. (Good news guys. We just discovered Duck Dynasty. Oh my goodness.) And you can be happy happy happy when you have a nice little pile of keychains ready to go in no time!

Who would you make a lucky keychain for and what years would you put on it?

We bought a metal drill bit at Lowe's and it worked for both the penny and the washer with no problems. I'm sorry to hear you had trouble. If you just bought the bit I would take it into the store and ask about it, or try contacting the company.

Sorry to hear that! I have another stamp set with a finer font that didn't show up very well on washers (I'm guessing because it's a harder metal?). My only idea would be to try a different set to see if you have better luck. Sorry!

Hi! I'm Georgia! I'm a full time wife & mommy, a lover of yard sales, curb finds, DIY, and all things thrifty. I'm always looking for low cost ways to make this place feel like home. More about me and my family